GW shaft choice

[revkev]

I'm about to be faced with a dilemna with my GW. I'm working my set of Mizuno 800 pros into the bag - the 4-PW have R shaft aerotech steel fiber 95's in them - I will only bag the 6-PW which means I'll have two shafts left over to use should I want.

 

I have the GW but it has its original DG S300 in it - that's a bit strong for me although being a GW I can hit it with very little trouble - its just that this shaft is different from my other irons and from my SCORs that have KBS tours in them.

 

I'm struggling deciding whether or not to take one of the Aerotechs and have it installed in the GW or purchasing a KBS and using it there.

 

Any thoughts?

 

I'm not in a rush and want to think this one through carefully.

[Super Tuna]

Sort of depends how you typically use it. If you treat it like a 11 iron (PW being the 10 iron) with mostly full shots, I'd say Steelfiber. If you use it mostly for chips, bump and runs, etc then I'd be inclined to match it to the other wedges.

 

If it's 50/50 use between the two, I'd lean more towards classifying it as an iron and going Steelfiber. I would suspect you'll be learning the bump and run, pitches, etc with all the higher lofted irons as well so you'll get a feel for doing those shots with the GW as well. Then you'll also have the same sort of feel you expect for full shots with it as well.

[JMiller]

Tuna hit on a really good point, how exactly do you use your wedges the most often?

 

For me a bump and run really won't matter what shaft I have in there, that's mostly about weight of the club in my hands to feel the stroke / strike. A little pitch shot that carries less then 20 yards really won't have much difference either, I haven't noticed anymore or less spin on one shaft over another on these style of shots. It's mostly technique / clean grooves / premium ball / good green conditions. With the new grooves, I don't get a ton of spin of the clubs from things that carry within 20 yards, If I need one to stop faster I do it with trajectory rather then spin. Hit that Phil flop and get some speed on it at that point. Then you might care what the shaft feels like, but I think we would want to avoid situations that a flop shot is your only option

 

I find that my preference comes from 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, Full shots on shafts. Once that I can get some speed into impact and actually see how the ball reacts to different shafts on the same green conditions. Say I have a 60 yard shot, i can use 60*, 56*, 52* and carry it 60 yards, what it does after it lands becomes more of my concern, if it is 60 yards and I can fly it 50yards and run it 10yards 52* is the pick. 56* would be something in the middle like 55yards, 5yard release, 60* would be me trying to land it and stop it right at 60yards.

 

The other thing I kind of take into consideration is feel between my wedges and my irons. I try to stick to the same company to get the same weight / feel off the shafts. If I play DG in the irons I plat DG in the wedges, KBS in the irons KBS in the wedges. I haven't played Nippon, I played PX in both irons and wedges on the old grooves. That is more of a feel thing then anything else, I might give up a little spin but my tempo is better when not jumping around between bend profiles.

 

In the new grooves I have only played DG x100s (9, W) shafts in Some Nike heads, they didn't spin enough at all. I bought my Mizuno MP T-11s and had KBS Tour Wedge XS put in them, I'll tell you what It took me some time to get used to the KBS shaft the lower section kicks it's a weird feeling compared to the DG I was playing. I get a lot more spin with my new set up and love it.

 

 

I don't know if that ramble helps any or not, to summarize if you partial swing the GW a ton go with the KBS Tour, if you full swing it more go for the Steel Fiber shaft.

 

 

Note: If the shafts are taper tip do not put a 4 or 5 iron shaft into a wedge. If they are parallel, build one to be at an 8i tip cut and another to a 9i tip cut spec and see which one you like better in the GW. If you go that road.

[hckymeyer]

My previous GW setup was a shaft that matched my 56° and 60° shafts. I was playing the DG Spinner shafts and had so/so luck with it. With my current irons I went from a 52° GW to a 50° GW and matched the shaft to the rest of my irons instead of the wedge shafts.

 

Personally I like this setup much better. I typically use the GW for full or 3/4 swing shots. Anything less than that will find me using 56° instead. So I ended up using an 8i shaft one flex higher than my irons and butt cut to length in the GW.

 

Like jmiller and Tuna said though, it's all how you want to use it. If you find yourself using it with mostly 3/4 and full swings then match it to your iron setup. I'd recommend getting an 8i steelfiber shaft in stiff flex and then install it straight in and cut to length. If you are using it more like a wedge with 1/4 and 1/2 swing shots then match the shaft to what you currently play in your other wedges.

 

Best of luck and let us know how it turns out!

[RookieBlue7]

If you're using it more for full shots, blend it to match your full club yardages with the set. If you're not hitting many full shots with it, I'd be more inclined to have it play more like my wedges and adjust based on their gaps versus the gaps at the end of the iron set. For example, if you're hitting lots of 3/4 and 1/2 wedge shots with it and the rest of your wedges, you'll want it to fall in and give you progressions based on 3/4 and 1/2 wedge shots versus full shots with the PW. All depends on your game and the way you're going to use the club.

 

Also, if you're using the Steelfiber, make sure it's the 9 iron/wedge shaft. I don't think they sell individuals in Steel Fibers, but rather sets (unless something has changed). And, using a softstepped shaft one flex up is to create a spinner shaft and isn't really conducive to hitting full shots because of the control it costs you on full shots.

[Super Tuna]

Also, if you're using the Steelfiber, make sure it's the 9 iron/wedge shaft. I don't think they sell individuals in Steel Fibers, but rather sets (unless something has changed). And, using a softstepped shaft one flex up is to create a spinner shaft and isn't really conducive to hitting full shots because of the control it costs you on full shots.

 

Individual's can be had from certain dealers if they're willing to break a set but you're right, that isn't common. Some seem to be, some aren't for the .355's. 370's can be hand singularly from anywhere that sells them.

[RookieBlue7]

Individual's can be had from certain dealers if they're willing to break a set but you're right, that isn't common. Some seem to be, some aren't for the .355's. 370's can be hand singularly from anywhere that sells them.

 

 

Yeah, I knew the .370's could be had, but who wants to ream a hosel, calculate tipping, etc... LOL.

[revkev]

Great advice guys - I truly appreciate it - this confirms my thinking on the way to go or at least why I would choose the option that I do.

 

The set that Rickles sent me has the PW and 9 iron weakened to even out his yardage gaps - he didn't use the GW but instead has matching wedges at the lower end of his bag - I want to say they are SCORs. At any rate I would undoubtably bend those two back to their original lofts so I'll do that first and play with them a bit before making my final decision on GW shafts.

 

I've carried 4 wedges forever - right now though my 55 and 60 are doing all the lifting around the greens - the SCOR face is pretty hot and I can hit chips with my 55 just fine - with other set ups I've used my GW for that duty - Generally I go with 4 hybrid, 9 iron or 8 iron for bump and runs in that order of preference. Since its the same 4 hybrid as before I haven't even begun working on the short irons with the steel fibers yet.

 

Honestly I think I will primarily use the GW as a full shot club so here's where I have another question - I'm learning all the time so help me out -

 

I thought that iron shaft sets came the same, same lenghth, tip, etc. and then the club builder dude did what was necessary to make them work - the last time I bought a set of shafts that's how it looked - they came to my house, I brought them to my friend and he installed them for me. Of course he could have discerned what went to what from that point without me knowing.

 

Please explain how this works so that I understand it.

 

Oh and JMiller I can assure you that try as I might there will be occasions where I have to hit flop shots during the course of the season and I can assure you equally that I will not play them with my GW - ever.

[hckymeyer]

There are basically two types of shaft tips. Parallel tips (.370 hosel) and Taper tips (.355 hosel). With the parallel tip shafts they are all the same length and same shaft, like what you explained. Typically the .370 shafts are used in older irons and some component heads. You have to tip them according to what iron you are putting them in and then butt cut to playing length. Taper tips shafts come in pre-cut lengths and are iron specific. Typically you don't tip trim them at all, just install and then butt cut to length. With taper tip shafts if you want to go in-between flexes you would either soft step them or hard step them. That means putting the shafts in one (or two) irons higher or lower than they were made for. Soft stepping will weaken the flex and add a little spin. Hard stepping will strengthen the flex and typically has a lower spin and ball flight. It's not a huge difference, but can be noticeable depending on your swing and current ball flight. The flex will change by about 1/3 flex for each "step" you do.

[JMiller]

I thought that iron shaft sets came the same, same lenghth, tip, etc. and then the club builder dude did what was necessary to make them work - the last time I bought a set of shafts that's how it looked - they came to my house, I brought them to my friend and he installed them for me. Of course he could have discerned what went to what from that point without me knowing.

 

Please explain how this works so that I understand it.

 

Taper tip (0.355 tip) come in variable lengths and tip sections and are labeled by the iron number that they should be placed into. They are not recommended to be tipped, you can tip them 1/4" and still get them in the hosel just fine but it's more recommended to soft and hard step them rather then tip trim them for in-between flexes. I think you probably have heard of soft and hard stepping before on this website at some point. Hard step would be taking say a 8iron shaft and sticking it into a 7iron (1x hard step) or 6iron (2x hard step). Soft step would be taking a 6i shaft and placing it into a 7iron (1x soft step) or 8iron (2x soft stepped) When we talk about using an 8iron shaft in a wedge that's basically a 2x soft step.

 

A parallel tip (0.370) shaft does come in the same length for all shafts, this is designed to be tip trimmed to get specific flex out of the shaft. For example the KBS Tour Parallel tips come in 3 weights and range in flexes. The X-Stiff is 135g 43.5" and can be tip trimmed from 6.0 to 7.5 literally anything in-between. They get tip trimmed for flex then butt trimmed for playing length.

 

A taper tip after butt trimming on a 3iron versus a Wedge should be roughly the same weight, because in a parallel shaft more shaft gets cut off in a Wedge then it does in a 3iron the long iron shafts weight heavier at the end result. Parallel does have more fitting options for exact flex and really the weight issues can be overcome with various weighting techniques, the most common is simple swing weight.

 

Oh and JMiller I can assure you that try as I might there will be occasions where I have to hit flop shots during the course of the season and I can assure you equally that I will not play them with my GW - ever.

I knew you were never going to hit a flop shot with a 50* wedge. I went back and re-read it I'm not sure that I said i would hit a flop shot with a 56* or 52* personally. I talked about pitching, bunkers, 1/4 swings, 1/2 swings, 3/4 swings, Full Swings. I do use the 52* with the face slightly open and 1/4 to 3/4 swings for pitching, bunkers and really low spinning type shots at times depending on the distance and spin control.

 

Awhile back i posted something on bunker play, if the lip is low enough and you have enough green to work with on a long bunker shot then maybe you hit 8iron out of the bunker with a slight open face. There really are no hard rules in golf what works, it was what you feel confident in pulling off. I feel that my 52* is more like a wedge then an iron personally because i do use it for a wide variety of shots excluding the flop shot. I don't even use my 56* for a flop shot either. The grind and bounce combination on those wedges don't allow me to open the club and easily get the leading edge under the ball unless it's in sand or sitting up in the rough. A soft lie I use the 56* / 52* a lot more then I use the 60* a tight lie / firm lie I use 60* more often.

 

I gave an example before on how I might use my 3 wedges, I'll re-type that in a different format to provide the example again.

I have a 60yard shot you have 3 options

1) hit 60* 1/2 swing high with a lot of spin flying it 55 to 60 yards and stopping it about where it lands.

2) hit 56* 1/4 swing medium with less pin flying it say 45-50 yards and letting it release to the hole a little.

3) hit 52* 1/4 swing choked down 3" low with very little spin landing it 35-45 yards and letting it roll out to the hole.

 

So it all depends on what I feel that I have the best chance with to get the ball close for what shot / club I pick. I personally use my GW for more touch shots then full swings the PW gets used mostly for 3/4 to full swings and more like an iron. that's where my bag splits between shafts. PW is a KBS C-Taper XS tipped 1/4" to play like a 10iron and the GW uses a KBS Tour Wedge XS to give me a little more feel and tip kick.

 

It is whatever you want to do with it and feel conferable doing, you are a low single digit I would assume that you have a good short game maybe it's better to match the GW shaft with the other wedges so that it gives you more options and creativity around the greens?

[RookieBlue7]

Actually an 8 iron in a wedge in a 1x soft step, as the 9 iron and wedge shaft are one in the same in taper tipped for nearly every manufacturer(37" raw length).

[revkev]

The question is which kind of shafts are the aerotechs - I'm assuming I can find out by checking golf works catalogue.

[Mr_Theoo]

I believe the 800 pros are .355 taper so you would be looking to find a single 9 Iron shaft

[revkev]

Guys I truly appreciate the help here and after some reflection will do one of two things - Get a KBS tour shaft to put in the GW or perhaps even save my sheckles and purchase a SCOR 50 to fill that gap - yes you read right - I'm loving those babies at this point.

 

I do have another question and if I don't get any action will try a new thread. Can the steelfibers be put into a hybrid? If I were to pick up a used 5 and 6 JPX hybrid could I put the corresponding steelfiber shafts into them?

 

I'm not saying I'd even want to - I'm just curious.

 

Thanks

[hckymeyer]

Guys I truly appreciate the help here and after some reflection will do one of two things - Get a KBS tour shaft to put in the GW or perhaps even save my sheckles and purchase a SCOR 50 to fill that gap - yes you read right - I'm loving those babies at this point.

 

I do have another question and if I don't get any action will try a new thread. Can the steelfibers be put into a hybrid? If I were to pick up a used 5 and 6 JPX hybrid could I put the corresponding steelfiber shafts into them?

 

I'm not saying I'd even want to - I'm just curious.

 

Thanks

 

Looks like the Steelfibers do come in both .370 and .355 tips shafts, and the JPX hybrids use .370 tip shafts. So yes you could put one in there, but you would need to buy a .370 shaft and then find the proper tipping. Just from checking the Aerotech website they only list tip trimming on those shafts for irons, so you would need to find someone smarter than me to know if it would actually be a good choice and how much to trim it.

[RookieBlue7]

Or just call Aerotech, explain what you're wanting to do as well as provide them with the lofts and they should happily help you decide.

[revkev]

Thanks again - sound advice -

 

I'm not saying I'd want to do that anyway - it was simply a question to see if it were even a consideration. I like the shaft in my irons but that doesn't mean I'd like them in a hybrid.

[RookieBlue7]

Never know till you try them like that. Relatively inexpensive experiment.

[hckymeyer]

Ha ha...very true. An expensive iron shaft becomes a pretty inexpensive hybrid shaft in a hurry!!

[revkev]

Ha ha...very true. An expensive iron shaft becomes a pretty inexpensive hybrid shaft in a hurry!!

 

Particularly since I wouldn't use the irons that the shafts are in anyway.

 

We'll see - I need to get the hybrids first - I'm torn between the regular JPX's or the JPX fli-hi heads. It won't be until late summer (after all of my weddings).

[Rickles]

Aerotech makes a steelfiber shaft specifically for hybrids. It is also basically the same price as a single iron shaft. Around $40 I believe. Check the golf works catalogue. I'm glad you are psyched on the irons.

[revkev]

Aerotech makes a steelfiber shaft specifically for hybrids. It is also basically the same price as a single iron shaft. Around $40 I believe. Check the golf works catalogue. I'm glad you are psyched on the irons.

 

They're working out quite nicely for me - I played with a friend yesterday whom I haven't played with since March - after a beautiful drive on 1 I had Wedge into the green and he had the same reaction as the guys I first hit the irons with - wow, that's such a great ball flight.

 

My "natural" shot with them is high with just a hint of fade but I can easily hit a baby draw with them also and that flies a tad lower - its what I'm using into the wind at this point as I work on learning how to hit knock downs with them - still don't quite have that shot in the arsenal yet.